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What Is Motivation? CHAPTER 11 • Motivating and Rewarding Employees 353

Several CEOs were attending a meeting where the topic
11-1 Define and was “What do employees want?” Each CEO took turns
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explain describing the benefits they provided and how they
motivation. gave out free M&Ms every Wednesday and offered
their employees stock options and free parking spaces.
However, the meeting’s main speaker made the point that
“employees don’t want M&Ms; they want to love what
they do.” Half expecting his audience to laugh, the speaker was pleasantly surprised as the
CEOs stood up one-by-one to agree. They all recognized that “the value in their companies
comes from the employees who are motivated to be there.”
These CEOs understand how important employee motivation is. Like them, all manag-
ers need to be able to motivate their employees, which requires understanding what moti-
vation is. Let’s begin by pointing out what motivation is not. Why? Because many people
incorrectly view motivation as a personal trait; that is, they think some people are motivated
and others aren’t. Our knowledge of motivation tells us that we can’t label people that way
because individuals differ in motivational drive and their overall motivation varies from situ-
ation to situation. For instance, you’re probably more motivated to work hard and do well in
some classes than in others.

78 percent of managers say they do a fair job
of motivating their people. 2

Motivation refers to the process by which a person’s efforts are energized, directed, and
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sustained toward attaining a goal. This definition has three key elements: energy, direction,
and persistence.
The (1) energy element is a measure of intensity or drive. A motivated person puts
forth effort and works hard. However, the quality of the effort must be considered as well
as its intensity. High levels of effort don’t necessarily lead to favorable job performance
unless the effort is channeled in a (2) direction that benefits the organization. Effort that’s
directed toward, and consistent with, organizational goals is the kind of effort we want from
employees. Finally, motivation includes a (3) persistence dimension. We want employees to
persist in putting forth effort to achieve those goals.
Motivating high levels of employee performance is an important organizational concern
and managers keep looking for answers. For instance, a recent Gallup poll found that a large
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majority of U.S. employees—some 64 percent—are not excited about their work. This
level of disengagement has been described by researchers: “These employees are essentially
‘checked out.’ They’re sleepwalking through their workday, putting time, but not energy or motivation
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passion, into their work.” It’s no wonder, then, that both managers and academics want to The process by which a person’s efforts are
understand and explain employee motivation. energized, directed, and sustained toward
Let’s start by looking at several early theories of motivation. attaining a goal

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